1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building environmental control systems and methods for controlling the environment within buildings. More specifically, the present invention relates to building environmental systems and methods which incorporate active elements of the environmental control system into curtain wall panels.
2. Background of the Invention
In modern building design, it is common to provide interior environmental control for a portion of or an entire building by way of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (“HVAC system”). Conventional HVAC systems focus on dynamically controlling the ambient room temperature and humidity components of occupant comfort whereas static structural elements, e.g. wall insulation and reflective shielding, are relied upon to address the sensible radiant component of occupant comfort. While this schema works reasonably well for interior rooms, exterior rooms suffer most from its drawbacks. In exterior rooms, the mean radiant temperature experienced by an occupant changes with the occupant's proximity to the room's exterior walls and windows. Because of this, the exterior rooms in the sunny sides of a building are often sensed by their occupants as being too hot whereas the exterior rooms in the shady sides of a building are often sensed by their occupants as being too cool. Local thermostatic controls and zoning systems of HVAC systems diminish this problem to some extent by controlling the temperature and humidity of the conditioned air in the occupied spaces but they do little to address the underlying cause of the problem—the exchange of heat between the building's outer surface and the outdoors and its resulting effects on the radiant heat exchange between the exterior rooms' outer walls and the individuals within the exterior rooms.